Lawyer for Eltahawy, an Egyptian-American writer calls action free speech

[Harry]

[float=left][/float]A lawyer for an Egyptian-American columnist charged with spray-painting over a pro-Israel subway ad used an odd hypothetical example to argue his client was merely exercising her right to free speech.

 

“My client decided to take a stand based on principle,” Stanley Cohen said of Mona Eltahawy, who was arraigned on misdemeanor charges, including criminal mischief, in Manhattan Wednesday. The ad she defaced implies Muslims are savages.

 

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[Grand Concourse]

smh... justifying vandalism? What's this world coming to? "2 wrongs don't make it right."

[LTA1992]

But free speech is free speech. Especially when it generalizes an entire group of people. I'm sure you would not have a problem doing what she did if this were the 1960s. Put yourself in that persons shoes before making judgement.

 

Free speech is only limited when it comes to causing a panic.

[lilbluefoxie]

I hope the judge throws the book at her.

[RTS CNG Command]

I'm Jewish, and those advertisements are absolutely disgusting, completely offensive, racist, and have no business being displayed throughout the city.

 

But Eltahawy's actions are completely wrong here. She can react, call out, and sharply criticize these ads. She has every right to blast those racist ads and the people who support the ads. But she DOESN'T have the right to deface property and give herself and her religion a worser name. She used spray paint to smear the ads, and these contain chemicals that wear through the structure. Because of her reactions here, the government or the MTA how has to clean up her mess and mend that part of the structure.

 

She has every right to be angry, and she has every right to say it loud and clear. I don't blame her one bit for this. But what she did here wasn't free speech. She destroyed property.

[Joel Up Front]

Why do we support Israel so much? The ad is implying that they're more "civil."

[Orion VII 4 Life]

The AD was free speech, vandalizing it was NOT. They can protest the ad all they want, even make counter ads or whatever, but you can't justify vandalism. They wouldn't like it if someone vandalized their counter ad should they make one.

[MTARegional Bus]

It maybe free speech but this is hate speech to the very core and offensive,You don't put ads that say example stuff about black american's and say'' Civilzed man and the N word Support the civilized man''. now everyone would go furious with that ad but is sad that a small group of muslim don't have a voice in this country specially with hate they have been getting.

[lilbluefoxie]

this woman spray-painting the ad only proves the ad is quite accurate. No civilized person spray-paints things then throws a temper tantrum when shes arrested for vandalism.

[Quill Depot]

The ad is f***ed up, although that does not give here the right to spray over it.

[Orion VII 4 Life]

My issue is that speaking out against the enemies of our nation is being classified as "hate speech". An ad that says "Support Jihad-Defeat Israel" would likely get praised by the liberals nowadays... just goes to show that our nation is now supporting our enemies, from helping out the "rebels" in Egypt and Libya to calling this "hate speech".

[LTA1992]

this woman spray-painting the ad only proves the ad is quite accurate. No civilized person spray-paints things then throws a temper tantrum when shes arrested for vandalism.

 

 

That's called anger and disgust. All "civilized" people have it.

[lilbluefoxie]

That's called anger and disgust. All "civilized" people have it.

 

 

Civilized people know how to control their anger, not destroy public property

[MTARegional Bus]

My issue is that speaking out against the enemies of our nation is being classified as "hate speech". An ad that says "Support Jihad-Defeat Israel" would likely get praised by the liberals nowadays... just goes to show that our nation is now supporting our enemies, from helping out the "rebels" in Egypt and Libya to calling this "hate speech".

 

 

 

 

Are you kidding? Every Jew in city will go to City hall to stop these ads. The Problem here if want to support your ant-whatever agenda you go to Youtube or make your own site but your doing it in the public place so prepare for the criticism as well it as these ads can create hate even though these ad say Defeat Jihad ignorant people will try to see this as ant Musilm's ad and think that Musilm's are the evil and try to murder one.

[Grand Concourse]

I'm Jewish, and those advertisements are absolutely disgusting, completely offensive, racist, and have no business being displayed throughout the city.

 

But Eltahawy's actions are completely wrong here. She can react, call out, and sharply criticize these ads. She has every right to blast those racist ads and the people who support the ads. But she DOESN'T have the right to deface property and give herself and her religion a worser name. She used spray paint to smear the ads, and these contain chemicals that wear through the structure. Because of her reactions here, the government or the MTA how has to clean up her mess and mend that part of the structure.

 

She has every right to be angry, and she has every right to say it loud and clear. I don't blame her one bit for this. But what she did here wasn't free speech. She destroyed property.

 

I'm glad there's someone that thinks rationally (and disagrees with the message) instead of the knee jerk reaction to just deface public property...

[RTS CNG Command]

My issue is that speaking out against the enemies of our nation is being classified as "hate speech".

You don't need to be a Muslim, Christian, Athiest, conservative, liberal, whatever to know immediately that this ad is clearly hate speech. When you break it down and review it, the "Jihad" part is a pathetic mask to save face to the public. They talked about "savages," and through the harsh language and propaganda provided, this ad is a clear racist attack on all Muslims. It is absolutely offensive, because it encourages Islamaphobia and war. It has no business being plastered all over the subway system!

 

An ad that says "Support Jihad-Defeat Israel" would likely get praised by the liberals nowadays...

 

…

 

Are you kidding me?! I'm liberal, and I'll NEVER support this kind of ad!

[Orion VII 4 Life]

I saw that Occupy Wall Street was at the MTA board meeting today speaking out against the ads... and they say they support our rights LOL. Not to be off topic, but OWS is a bunch of hypocrite liberal hipsters (the majority of them support Obama THE Wall Street puppet) so this doesn't surprise me at all.

[lilbluefoxie]

who knew OWS was still around, I thought they disbanded a while ago.

[Kamen Rider]

But free speech is free speech. Especially when it generalizes an entire group of people. I'm sure you would not have a problem doing what she did if this were the 1960s. Put yourself in that persons shoes before making judgement.

 

Free speech is only limited when it comes to causing a panic.

 

 

"free speech" is limited where it causes harm, not just panic.

[LTA1992]

"free speech" is limited where it causes harm, not just panic.

 

 

And that Anti-Jihad ad isn't causing harm?

[mark1447]

Heres a link to a video you can see (of the lady tagging)

 

http://www.pixiq.com/article/reporter-arrested-in-confrontation-with-photographer

[MHV9218]

This woman is ridiculous. I fully support the defacement of these ads, but anybody with half a brain should know they'll be arrested if caught. And to a degree, that's a good thing. Arrests make a statement, that's the point of civil disobedience. This notion that it's "her free speech" and she has a right to tag it? No. It's vandalism. It's vandalism that I think is a good thing, but you have to know what you're doing.

[FriedChikkin]

She should have used textile paint and made it into an art piece. One thing I cracked up about as a Conductor was seeing how people defaced ads by swapping body parts, etcetera.

 

Oh well... if NYC allows the Ku Klux Klan to parade up Broadway I suppose these ads have to be allowed, too. I personally find that they're more appealing to those whose opinions are just that. They're not educated on Islam besides what the boobtube tells them or newspapers. They won't bother reading The Quran or make any attempt to humanize millions of people whom are being slaughtered wholesale. Men, women, children, babies... bombs, bullets, knives, white phosphorous... because soldiers aren't issued Nerf guns.

 

The same mentalities allowed for the successful slaughter of millions of Jews during Nazi-era Germany. Its a program of dehumanizing hatred and it allows people to turn a blind eye to inhuman horror.

 

Would you imagine, if even for a moment, a mother looking at her soon-to-be-dead children? I know, their names, pictures, dreams and aspirations in life aren't on the boobtube or the cover of the Daily News or Post, so it never happened... its like the video games, right? ...there are no families on the battlefields...

[RTS CNG Command]

I saw that Occupy Wall Street was at the MTA board meeting today speaking out against the ads... and they say they support our rights LOL.

 

I'm not a fan of Occupy myself due to its mostly unclear protesting goals, but whether you like it or not, they do have a clear-cut point protesting the anti-Muslim racist ads that are being spread in the subway.

[GojiMet86]

I'm not a fan of Occupy myself due to its mostly unclear protesting goals, but whether you like it or not, they do have a clear-cut point protesting the anti-Muslim racist ads that are being spread in the subway.

 

 

But of course, some here would argue that because they're smelly, liberal, socialists that want to get rid of corrupt Wall Street bankers and want to get rid of the gap between the rich and the poor, that they shouldn't be considered and aren't valid. And then they call the protesters hypocrites by using irrational logic and by trying to discredit them so that no one touches the real issue.